Ezra POV

The brush of cream skin against the whole right side of my body rouses me from my deep sleep. My whole body buzzes with awareness. Memories from last night jolt into my brain and my mouth parts.

I'd never thought my life could be this good.

Klepto lays against me, legs entangled with mine. I brush the dark hair from her face, admiring her full cheeks and dark eyebrows. She slumbers peacefully. A bright pink scab smiles back at me from her neck. The perfect imprint of my teeth, my bite, my mark.

My fingertips reach out to brush the skin there, gently pressing into it, feeling my claim. The connection between us has grown stronger.

Since the moment I gave her my mark, and she gave me hers, I felt every emotion that crossed her mind. When we danced and partied the night away I experienced her joy and her excitement. When we cut the cake and ate a couple of slices, I felt her joy.

Then... well then we came home and had a night to ourselves I felt every moment of her love. The amount of love that my she-wolf has for me leaves me speechless. I'm still in awe of it.

Yesterday was pure heaven. There isn't another day I've lived so far that compares to it. We danced, we sang, we drank, we loved. I run a hand over Klepto's bare back.

I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Slowly but surely, I climb out of bed. The blankets slip off of me and I grab them to cover up my sweet mate. She sighs in contentment, nestling deeper into the mountain of blankets and pillows.

The house is chilly this morning. The snow outside is higher than it was last night. I close the curtains to make it darker and preserve the warmth in the room. Then I bend down over my precious girl, kissing her brow before slipping out of the room.

I'm still as naked as the day I was born. Luckily Ace offered to watch the boys so we can have a very short lived honeymoon. I wish it could be longer than a few days, but there's a lot to be done.

The aftermath of the Red Alpha is a mess. The Guard is in regular contact with us, us being Veiler, Savannah, and I. They are still tracking her down, but haven't had much luck with any leads.

Alpha Veiler has been very involved in news regarding the situation. He's in the same predicament as me, he wants to find her no matter how hard it may be.

I sigh as I heave the refrigerator door open and pull out a carton of eggs. I hold it in my hands as I picture Klepto's face in my mind and know that she's more important to me than all of this mess.

How can I try and uncover the Red Alpha's location when it can pose a threat to the safety of the most precious thing in my life? Klepto comes first now, and she always will.

I start in the kitchen, practicing the only culinary skills that I bothered to learn from Hyrum's constant cooking. Scrambled eggs, bacon, and hash browns. They all simmer together in the two pans one the stove. The heat wafts the smell up into my face and I grin.

Hopefully my sleeping mate won't rouse from the scent of her breakfast. It's supposed to be a surprise after all. Breakfast in bed.

Loading everything onto a plate, I pour a quick glass of juice and grab a fork. Let's hope I can make a good impression.

Call it cheesy, call it desperate, but I want to show Klepto what a good mate I'll be to her each and every day of our lives. I will always take care of her, and today I'll show her in more ways than one.

Today I will finally open up.

When I get to our bedroom, the door swings inward to reveal my mate. Despite just waking up her appearance isn't frazzled or messy like most. Her hair looks freshly brushed, her face bright, eyes wide and alert.

One glance down at the food I hold in my hands and she lights up.

"Is that for me?" She wonders, her lips pulling up at the corners.

"Nope. I'm just bringing breakfast upstairs for myself. You can watch me eat though, if you want." Klepto squints her eyes up at me suspiciously.

"Kidding." I say, shuffling past her. "Now sit your cute butt in bed so I can hand feed you."

She crosses her arms over her chest as she watches me from across the room. I can tell she's trying to hide the smile that's trying to break free. Klepto doesn't want me to know how impressed she really is. She's caught herself a capable mate and she knows it.

"Ha ha ha. Very funny." She crawls under the covers and slumps down on the bed.

I slide the plate onto her lap and hand her the glass of apple juice. She accepts it with a sly grin.

"Don't spill it." I instruct her and she rolls her pretty gray eyes.

"Oh, trust me, I know. I've cleaned up enough spilled juice this week to last me a lifetime." She grumbles, pushing the cup aside on the nightstand and digging into her morning meal.

I have no idea what she's talking about, and by the look on her face I know I shouldn't ask.

"So, what's all this for?" My mate says around a mouthful of food as she gestures to the plate of breakfast I made for her. "You trying to seduce me or something?"

"I already did, last night. Remember?"

She shrugs nonchalantly, a dark eyebrow arching. Klepto is an absolute picture of perfection sitting in front of me. Sometimes when I look at her I'm sure she's an angel sent from above to guide me. Even if she does shove too much food in her mouth at once.

"So this is, what, a token of your gratitude? I need to be reimbursed for what we did last night? There's a term for that, and I'm pretty sure it's illegal." She teases, chuckling to herself as she nibbles on a thick piece of bacon.

I go quiet, suddenly overwhelmed by the memories that run rampant in my head. They demand to be shared, set free. I know I need to tell her. I just need to open my mouth and let it all out.

Noticing my sobered mood, Klepto leans forward to grab my hand in hers.

"Hey, I was just joking." She explains, now flustered. "What's wrong?"

My gaze flickers up to her worried face. We went from carefree to serious in seconds. Do I really want to do this? How can I be so vulnerable to someone after all this time?

What if I do it wrong?

"You know you can talk to me about anything, right?" She whispers. Her soft voice lures me out of the dark shadows of my mind. Her fingers brush my upper arm and I sigh, knowing I should just delve on in.

"I had a dream... about my mom. My real mom." I say slowly, tasting each syllable on my tongue.

Klepto's eyes grow wide, her lips parting. The face of the nameless woman from my dream slips and slides in my mind on the unstable ground of my brain. I can't seem to push it back, it's all too much.

"Well, not a dream, but a memory." I sigh hard, pushing my hair away from my forehead with my hand. "I've always been told that she left me alone somewhere, abandoned me, but it's not true. I... I saw her. Someone was breaking in and she hid me, she tried to protect me. They killed her."

I nearly choke on the words, trying to force them out. Once they're out I feel like there's more space in my lungs. I'm lighter now, weight lifting from my shoulders already.

"Who? Who killed her?" Klepto asks gently, setting her plate aside on the bed and scooting closer to me. Her hand on my knee calms me.

"I don't really know. The end of the dream was fuzzy. I think he was familiar somehow, like I knew him from somewhere." I relay the information, and once it's in the open the weight continues to lift from my shoulders.

Klepto's head tilts to the side as she ponders this.

"Well, how do you feel about that?" She wonders and I shrug, because I don't even really know.

I haven't tried to dissect it that much, when it comes up I try to shove it down, compress it.

"Sad, angry even I think. I don't know who she is or why someone came to take me away and kill her. She seemed so sweet and innocent, kind. She actually loved me." I explain, realizing it for the first time. The woman from my dream loved me. She told me so.

I love you, baby. I'll be right back.

Throughout my whole life I've hated the woman who brought me life for giving me up, leaving me. But she didn't. She fought tooth and nail to save me. She tried to keep me hidden.

But, why?

"Of course she did. How could she not?" My mate squeezes my hand in hers, her pale fingers so small and cold against my skin.

I nod absently, not really paying attention to what she said.

"And um... there's something else."

Klepto smiles, sighing.

"Well, I'm sure it's not as dramatic as the first thing, right?"

"The Red Alpha may or may not be my sister."

Her gray eyes bug out of her head, and she gasps dramatically. I had hoped it wouldn't be like this.

"What did you just say? How.. how would you even... why? Just how?" Klepto tries to form a sentence and fails miserably, and continues to ramble on until I clamp my palm over her mouth.

"She told me. She called me little brother." Klepto pushes my hand away even as I release her.

"She's crazy. You said it, not me. You told me she was a raging lunatic but you decide to believe her when she tells you that you're related." She demands, and part of me agrees with her, and it's the majority of me.

But there's still that nagging in the back of my head that wants to be heard. I can't ignore the sliver of doubt, the piece of me that somehow knows it's true.

It all makes sense to me.

"We're similar, I hate to say it, but we are. Our hair, our eyes. It was like looking at myself as a female." I tell her, not wanting to explain further but deciding it has to be done. I just need to bite the bullet. "And she's a monster, just like me." I whisper, feeling miserable.

"Ezra, no. Don't do that." I'm surprised when Klepto's arms wind around my waist as she pulls herself to me. She's now in my lap, still completely naked.

I'm too caught up in my own worries to notice her lack of clothing.

"You're not a monster. Not at all. You're amazing." She murmurs against my chest, her head tucked under my chin. "Don't talk about yourself, that's my mate you're insulting dammit!"

I shake my head, she's really not getting it.

"All of those things I said to you. Denying you, insulting you, standing by as you were bullied and hated. Or how about beating Reid to a bloody pulp because he told me the truth, that the way I treated you was a sin." I grit my teeth. "How can you look at me and see anything good? It only makes sense that I'm related to the Red Alpha. I'm destined to be evil."

My brain goes haywire when a crack fills the air, and my cheek begins to sting. Klepto just slapped me. I can't believe it.

"Listen here. You are not all of those things. You may have made some mistakes, but so what? Who hasn't? You're you, you're not your mistakes. I won't say that I wasn't hurt, because I definitely was, but you have redeemed yourself. You bathed the blood from my fur, you comforted Felix when he cried, you took over the role of a leader when my pack was in ruins."

All of her points make sense in theory, and I feel slightly comforted, but I'm still lost. Klepto grabs my face between her hands and yanks it to hers. Our noses brush as she stares deep into my eyes.

"Even if you are related to the Red Alpha, which who knows maybe you are, does that mean you're a bad person? No. My Mother is a complete nutcase and her blood runs through my veins. Do you think I'm anything like her?"

I shake my head fervently even though Klepto tries to keep it in place. I refuse to think for a second that she's anything close to her mother, and now I see her point.

"DNA doesn't determine who I am, I do. You have that right too." She pleas with me, trying to convince me of my worth and I can't believe I'm lucky enough to have her.

I stay silent for a long while, my mate curled up in my lap, our skin touching all over the place. Her eyes hold so much love that I'm rendered speechless.

"I love you." I tell her. A slow grin climbs on her face.

"Then why don't you show me just how much you love me?" She murmurs the invitation and I accept it with a grin. She collapses on the bed and I lean over her, kissing her neck and behind her ear.

"Don't! I'm ticklish there!" She insists when I nibble her earlobe, trying to wriggle away from me and hitting her head on the nightstand in the process.

There's a crashing sound of glass being shattered and I reluctantly glance over to the side.

"What was that?" She asks, her voice full of dread.

"That would be the juice."

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If you're reading this, I love you:)

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